Automation in the agro-industrial complex exacerbates the problem of labor shortages

The BRICS Mobility team participated in the Agravia exhibition, which was held in Moscow and brought together representatives of the agro-industrial complex, technology companies, and industry experts.

During a roundtable discussion on digitalization in the agro-industrial complex, an industry paradox was highlighted: automation, rather than alleviating the labor shortage, is in many cases exacerbating it. Agricultural holding executives noted that modern foreign equipment requires highly qualified specialists, often fluent in English, and such specialists are extremely scarce in the market. Furthermore, the number of specialized educational institutions for the agro-industrial complex is limited, and training is expensive. As a result, the influx of young specialists is minimal.

As the discussion participants noted, the situation in the regions deserves special attention. In most of them, the labor shortage is systemic: the workforce does not meet the actual needs of enterprises. Moreover, in terms of comfort and services, rural areas still lag far behind cities.

Solving this problem requires a comprehensive and long-term approach—developing infrastructure, educational centers, and living conditions. However, a severe personnel shortage is already impacting businesses today.

We are seeing that, under these conditions, agribusinesses are increasingly turning to attracting labor from abroad. However, this cannot be a simple solution, as simple as "bringing in people." As the BRICS Mobility experience demonstrates, only managed and sustainable models focusing on the adaptation, qualifications, and long-term integration of foreign specialists are effective.

Incidentally, a recent article by Natalia Vershinina for a leading industry media outlet provides a detailed analysis of this topic. It is titled "The Agro-Industrial Complex and Migration Policy: How Industry Companies Are Addressing the Labor Shortage." The article can be found at the link below: